TigerNet Talk #73: Pouncing Back

After the first quarter at Georgia Tech, much of the national audience had already flipped over to the opening game of the NFL season. It appeared to most, Clemson was about to get crushed in their opening ACC game. Another prime time Tiger flop was only three quarters away. Trailing 24-0, with possibly the entire season riding on their reaction to the situation, Clemson struck back.

In a flash, literally, Clemson began one of the best comebacks in years. Clemson’s twenty-seven unanswered points gave them an opportunity to have the second greatest come from behind win in Clemson history. Even after the final gun, Clemson’s players, coaches, and fans saw something they could be proud of regardless of the outcome. Moral victories are worthless, but stepping up when many would have folded says a lot about this team. In a strange way, the loss at Georgia Tech made this team stronger. One would expect a fired up Clemson team to arrive in Death Valley on Saturday.

This weekend Clemson is set to battle the thorn in their side, Boston College. The Eagles have won three out of four against Clemson since joining the ACC. On top of that, recently, Tiger teams have allowed one loss to beat them multiple times, never being able to put the last loss in the rear view mirror. I think Coach Swinney is going to change that trend.

In the four games against Boston College, the Eagles have been the dominate team in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Their line dominance, in my opinion, is why they are the most difficult team for Clemson to match up with in the conference. Hopefully, the loss of defensive linemen, B.J. Raji and Ron Brace to the NFL, will be enough to even the line play this season.

The good news for Clemson fans is that the Eagles have more question marks at quarterback than any team in the league. If the Tigers can shut down the Eagles rushing attack between the tackles, it might make for a long day for quarterbacks, Justine Tuggle and Dave Shinskie. Boston College can’t allow this game to be decided by their arms alone. If the Eagles are forced to beat Clemson in the air, the Tiger’s ball hawking secondary should have plenty of opportunities to make game changing plays.

Follow the tigers throughout the season on TigerNet Talk. Each week, Lawton Swann will review the previous weekend's game and preview Clemson's next opponent.

This season I am going to try and expand TigerNet Talk's coverage to include more former Clemson athletes. I hope you will also follow our twitter feed to get all the latest Clemson sports news. Twitter is a great way to get the information you want to your computer or even your mobile phone. http://twitter.com/clemsonpodcasts

If you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know. I also hope you will tune in each week to Clemson Hotline, on a network of stations across South Carolina. Clemson Hotline can be heard live Monday nights on WOLT-FM @ http://www.wolt-fm.com/wolt.m3u I look forward to hearing from you all throughout the season.